To Practice Gratitude

To practice gratitude: 

there are different ways for us to practice gratitude, a mindful approach, or keeping a journal to list the many things we have that often slip our mind as being gifts. Anything that reminds us that life is rich in giving and that we are so fortunate to receive its many blessing is a worthwhile endeavor. A practice is simply a cultivation of thoughts, habits, that serve us in some useful, practical way - and being grateful, mindfully so, has benefits far beyond its measure. The practice itself is far reaching in what it offers us, from it's immediate effect of a smile for what's present, to pain relief, increasing health and lifespan, easing depression, and actually altering the brain in a way that improves the quality of our thinking. It's amazing to consider that just by being aware of all that we've been given, and then life showers us with even more in a subtle, yet meaningful fashion.

yes, there are different ways to practice gratitude, all being worthy of our consideration, but my favorite is when it just spontaneously arrives, unbidden, and fills me with an inner smile that seems to reach directly from my soul and overflows to touch the world. It's unexpected, yet no longer rare, as it occurs now throughout my day, odd moments of such deep appreciation that I'm forced to pause and give note to its arrival. I find that I'm grateful for its appearance, a gift of appreciating what's present and how it found its way into my life, being thankful for the ability to give thanks and basking in the glow of simply being happy. It's not so much a practice any longer as it an event, just noticing it as it happens, and being touched by this small, important joy. 

to practice gratitude takes no real effort at all - notice the breath, freely given, and the abundance of air readily pressed against our lips, eager, and the ease in which it's drawn. There it is, our practice, one long breath lovingly considered...

and the countless ones that have come before.

yet this one,presently taken,

being grateful to receive. 

~

Peace, Eric